The present invention relates generally to baked snack products and to processes for preparing such snack products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a concave shaped snack product coated with a fused particulate topping composition.
Studies of consumer preferences have repeatedly shown that consumers desire flavor, texture, and shape variety in food products, particularly snack products such as crackers or potato chips.
One product which does not appear on the market is a concave shaped, baked, cracker-type snack product coated with a fused particulate topping composition.
It has been common practice, where possible, in the production of snack products such as potato chips or corn chips to impart a curved shape to the product. The curved shape is considered a desirable feature both from a visual aspect and from the fact that it facilitates use of the snack with dips since the curved shape makes it easier to collect and maintain the dip on the surface of the snack. Furthermore the curved shape of the snack results in a lower bulk density in the packaging giving the packaged product a pleasantly filled appearance. Generally a curved shape is imparted as a by product of the manufacturing process. For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,647 to Liepa teaches that in making potato chips, slices of raw potatoes are deep fat fried to a crisp state. The chips so prepared have a random surface curvature which usually takes on a saddle-like appearance. However, frying is the only acceptable means of producing the curve shaped product described and the chips are prepared not from doughs but whole slices of potato. The curled shape present in corn chips is the result of using a pressurized extrusion process. The curl forms as the product exits the extrusion head. The use of extrusion equipment, however, limits the type of flours which may be used to make up the dough since some, such as wheat flours, tend to burn under the temperatures found in an extrusion chamber. Furthermore a draw back to both of the products described is that they are produced by deep fat frying. Deep fat fried food products are often shunned or avoided by members of the public desiring to lower their total fat and oil intake.
Mechanical means are also used to impart a curved shape to flat snack products. The art provides numerous examples of snack products which have to be shaped by mechanical means. Among these is U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,819 to Weir et. al., which describes an apparatus for preparing fabricated potato chips from a flat dough ribbon, in which if a curved shape is desired, the flat dough ribbon is molded between concave and convex surfaces directly after the frying step to produce the desired shape. U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,647 to Liepa teaches a method for preparing a saddle shaped fabricated potato chip by sheeting and cutting the desired shape from the dough and then holding the dough piece between two similarly configured molds as the dough piece is conveyed through the deep fat frying step to ensure that the piece maintains its deformed shape.
One means for imparting a concave shape to a oven baked cracker-type snack product is to replace the normal flat band of a commercial oven with a specially fabricated band that has spaced ridges affixed to the band such that when the dough sheet is layed onto it, gravity pulls the unsupported middle of the dough sheet down resulting in a desirable concave shape. This is not a commercially desirable method since it requires a specially fabricated oven band which would have to be replaced with a flat band whenever the manufacturer wished to make other products without a curved shape. The manufacturer would end up with one oven dedicated to production of concave shape baked products, thus limiting his production flexibility. Furthermore the concave shape is limited to one fixed angle since the ridges are not adjustable. Generally it is also known in the art that a slight curvature can be imparted to a dough sheet being subjected to oven baking by varying the heat applied in the top and bottom zone of the band oven. For example, in manufacturing a thin wheat type cracker by applying greater heat to the dough sheet in the top zone and less heat in the bottom zone, the middle portion of the product will lift off the band to give a very slight convex shape. However the curvature which may be imparted to the product using this technique is slight, certainly less than 10 degrees. Furthermore the product produced tends to be non-uniform since it is difficult to control the amount of curvature which is imparted to the product using this baking method.
The application of flavored topping compositions is also carried out generally after the baking or frying step of the process by using application techniques such as spraying or dipping.
It is highly desirable that the coating which is applied to the snack product be tightly affixed or fused to the snack; otherwise the flavor coating comes off while being subjected to further handling both before and after packaging thus making the product more expensive to flavor. There is an economical advantage to being able to affix the flavorants in the prebaking stage since here it is easier to collect unused flavor and recycle for reuse. U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,555 to Becher et. al., teaches the preparation of a flavoring composition for topical, pre-bake application to baked dough products. The examples discloses applying dry particles to a unbaked dough preform, the flavor composition being a mixture of flavoring and seasoning ingredients, cracker flour, comminuted baked dough products, and fats. However, the particles are not applied with the intent of forming a continuous coating, but rather as discrete particles. Furthermore, the patent teaches that it is the melting of the fats which causes the particles to adhere to the surfaces of the baked product after cooling. In addition, there is no discussion that the coating applied has any impact on deforming the shape of snack product.
The present invention provides a concave shaped baked snack product which is coated with a fused flavored particulate topping and the product can be made on existing, in-place commercial manufacturing equipment. The topping composition is made from a film-forming food starch and flavors and is applied to a sheeted dough prior to baking. During baking the topping composition becomes fused to the expanding dough base causing the edges of the dough sheet to lift up resulting in a desirable concave shaped coated snack product.